Monday, September 17, 2007

Chris Hackett for Congress, the interview

Chris Hackett is the owner of One Source Staffing Solutions since 1990. He has a degree in accounting from Wittenberg University in Ohio and is a long time resident of Shavertown in Luzerne County.

Why Congress?

I think Congress is an environment where I think I can make a significant impact. I'm running because of my disappointment with the current direction of our government. They have become too invasive in our individual lives and the approach to spending is deplorable.

There is an old adage in politics that says challengers don’t win elections, incumbents lose them.I think Don Sherwood proved that. Why do you think Carney deserves to lose?

I think Carney does deserve to lose because he doesn’t reflect the values of the 10th congressional district very effectively. When you look at some of the votes that he has cast during his time in Congress they have been inconsistent with the rhetoric he put forth during his campaign. I don’t think they necessarily reflect the values of the district.

Give me an example?

I will give you several. One is the card check vote which allows unions to organize employees without a secret ballot. This would remove a fundamental right that workers have to a secret ballot which is protection from coercive actions by union organizers. I think the most recent example is the S-CHIP legislation that takes dollars out of Medicare and uses them to provide health insurance to illegal immigrants. Taking away the states rights to verify that they are a US citizen before they can be offered those benefits. Some of those kinds of things really fly in the face of the district.

Big thing in the news was General Petraeus said when asked if the war in Iraq is making us safer he said he didn’t know. He back tracked later. What do you think?

I think the war in Iraq has made us safer. What I would point to is lack of attacks in this country during the most recent time frame. I actually believe we are safer because we have taken the fight to these Islamic fanatics first hand.

In you latest press release you used the phrase Islamofascist terrorism. What does that mean?

My view is that this war is not just a war in Iraq. This a war against an ideology, much like the war against the Soviets. That was an ideology that they were trying to force on other countries. Here is the relationship I would draw for you. If you look at the parallels between the cold war and the war we are currently fighting they are very, very similar. In 1945 World War II ended. In 1947 because Europe wasn’t getting back on it’s feet we rolled out something called the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was a self serving vehicle which was perfectly appropriate and well orchestrated, it really helped Europe get back on it’s feet. We saw what was happening in Eastern Europe with of many of those countries becoming Communist so we started the containment process. So in 1947 we rolled out the Marshall Plan. In 1950 there was a war in Korea that was a containment activity and the war in Vietnam was a containment activity. The war in Afghanistan was an effort of containment. I don’t know if most people understand but we actually backed Al Qaeda against the Soviets in trying to maintain Afghanistan’s independence. During the cold period it took us 50years to win that war. And I dare say we were effective in winning that war. But there was many different pieces and again that was an ideology that these people, these communists, were trying to force on the rest of the world. It was a way of living, away of life, and we appropriately had a long term thought out strategy on how we were going to win it. It think that’s what we really need to be effective against these Islamist fascists. I’m sure you understand that the goal here is putting in place a theocracy. That is the goal of these Islamic extremists, to use a theocracy much like what was in place in Afghanistan before we unseated that terrorist regime. They oppressed the people, they ruled through fear, it’s no different than any other Dictatorship and that’s what we are fighting against. We’re not fighting against Iraqi’s or Afghan’s but we’re fighting against an ideology. These people are out to get us. They have articulated a one hundred year plan that they have to try to beat us. So they’re not looking at this as a short term fight, this is a long term conflict.

How about the domestic reaction to 9/11 such as the Patriot Act? Do you support the Patriot Act?

Yes. I think the Patriot Act was an appropriate response and I think one of the things we do is to continue to be aggressive in how we fight against this enemy.

The Military Commissions Act. One of things that bothers me is that the Government can declare somebody an enemy combatant and hold them without habeas corpus. Do you favor that?

I favor an aggressive approach in trying to deal with our enemy and I do believe we should be as aggressive as possible. This is in fact a war and we need to deal with it as such. .

Specifically, do you favor holding an American citizen without access to the courts?

Correct me if I’m wrong but they are not holding American citizens, are they?

Jose Padilla

That’s true he was held, but has since been convicted and is awaiting sentencing. The reality is we have to hold enemy combatants. The Military Commissions Act gave broad authority to the President to designate someone is an illegal enemy combatant, which was the designation issued to Jose Padilla.

Even they are a United States citizen arrested in the United States?

Yes.

You say you are Pro-Family, what do you mean by that? Nobody is anti-family.

I disagree with you, I think some people are anti-family. I think there is no more important unit than the family structure and defining that as a mother and father is very important to me. I think from an educational perspective the students that clearly do best are in good solid family situations. I’m pro-family, I’m pro-life and I’m very interested in using that as the building block for our society. I believe that what our society stands on.

On the pro-life issue. Some say that you were pro-choice before?

No.

Always been?

Always been, I was raised Catholic and I think some people like to misinterpret things for their own purposes.

What about abstinence only education?

I think the important thing is that the government not be involved in providing birth control because that is not the role of government. There are good reasons that abstinence makes sense. I think we must continue to educate kids, as the media as well as rock and rap have a promiscuous tone and demeanor which is often less than positive. I think providing the other side of the story is useful and important.

Gay marriage, for or against?

Opposed.

Gay adoption?

I would oppose that because of the sanctity of mother and father relationship.

Plain equal rights for gay citizens?

What does that mean?

You can’t be fired because you’re gay? Many states allow it.

I think that’s an interesting point because I think states have rights to do what they like. But I’m not for any form of discrimination, but I would also suggest no single group should get any preferential treatment, period.

You run a temp agency and temp agencies are notorious for hiring illegal aliens. What do you do prevent to prevent that?

I think that’s an absolute mischaracterization of the flexible staffing business and I think the tone of that is insulting. Please also note, I own 3 other businesses - Professional Recruiting, Insurance Brokerage and Administrative Services. That having been said I will answer your question. We have been using the Homeland Security Pilot Program to verify that someone’s name ,ssn and date of birth match. We are one of the 8000 companies in the country to use this system to make sure that the people that we hire are not illegal aliens.

Nobody is for illegal immigration.

I disagree with that. There are lots of organizations that are for it. Look at the ACLU and their efforts to fight the most recent rules of the Department of Homeland Security to enforce no matches within the Social Security Admin database.

What do you think of Lou Barletta’s approach?

I give Lou a lot of credit for taking a stand and trying to get something done. Whether in fact it’s the right thing or wrong thing isn’t for me to decide but I applaud him for taking action and trying to deal with the problem in a proactive fashion.

DO you think he is trying to usurp the powers of the federal government?

That’s a very interesting question because the premise that lies behind it is that the federal government has the right to regulate these things through the commerce clause. I think there is a question to where states rights are and being a federalist and recognizing the states should have more of the rights that have been taken away from them since 1937. States should have the latitude to be more aggressive in dealing with theses issues.

You made a contribution the Luzerne County Democratic County Commissioners then got a county contract. Do you want to address that?

I would be happy to. I brought you a list because I thought you might want it, these are the contributions made to the Skrepnak/Vonderheid committee. Chris Hackett gave $5000 on 12/15/2006. There are some other people you might recognize that also contributed on the same day - I think the total was $161,000 for that day. My point is that I was a supporter of Todd Vonderheid and I think many Republicans supported Vonderheid. Our effort was to have better county government. I think if you got hrough this list you will find that most people don’t do any work with the county and just wanted better government - like me. Vonderheid came from the Chamber and really understands business and he would try to run the county as a business and be more frugal with the taxpayers money. I think his efforts went well from that perspective. We have work with the county but the contract that you are talking about started at the end of 2005 and was finished in April 2007. To suggest that this $5000 contribution was something that we paid to get the contract is an illegitimate, politically motivated conclusion. But I want to be clear, I also made contributions to Todd when he was initially running in 2003, as well as a fund raiser in early 2006. Each of those contributions was $1,000. But I think it is disingenuous to say we got this business because of the any contributions - the county does have a formal bidding process and the rates we bid are clearly very, very competitive. Please remember, the 19% mark-up on the wages we paid also had to cover FICA, FUTA, SUTA and Worker's Compensation costs, payroll processing as well as the cost of carrying the receivables - we were paid over 200 out for some of our invoices. Clearly this was not the "sweetheart" deal that some would suggest. We did bill at a 30% mark-up for a couple employees because they were a much higher worker's compensation category.

People want to know how you voted last time?

I think we all go into the voting booth and pull the levers that we think are right. And I think we have a right to maintain our privacy on how we vote. I think who I vote for is my business and nobody else’s business.

The Stephen Colbert question. Dubya, a great president or the greatest?

I think that history is going to show that a lot oft he things that George Bush is doing today particularly in the war against terrorism are going to be correct. I will tell you have I have some real problems with the spending. I absolutely oppose earmarks.

Ed. Note: At this point my recorded malfunctioned so I will paraphrase his answers.

On college football Penn State and ND are my two favorite teams- but I also like Ohio State - I think Jim Tressler is a class act.

I asked some questions that were provided in the comments on an earlier post.

Has your company ever employed any illegal immigrants?

We comply with all laws regarding employment and as it relates to verifying ability to work in the US we go much further than most employers. The law requires employers to obtain certain acceptable documents to prove someone is able to work in this country. It is up to the judgment of the individual looking at the documents to assess validity. If they look reasonable, they must be accepted, as a business opens itself up to claims of discrimination if they reject prospective employees based on the exercising of this judgment.

As I noted before, we are part of a very small percentage of employers that use the Homeland Security program to verify a match of the Social Security Number, Data of Birth and Name. Aside from identify theft, this gives us a very high degree of certainty that the individual is eligible to work in the United States. We started utilization of this program over two years ago.

You are stating that you are pro life- are there any exceptions you would accept for a woman to get an abortion?

Yes. Rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

Do you favor making English the official language of the US?

Yes. But I think it is important to understand why I feel this way. One of the reasons our country is so prosperous is we share a common language, common currency, all states have property rights and we all follow the rule of law as a basis for interaction. If you don't require a common language, it decreases efficiency, and keeps those who don't learn English in low paying positions. Think about the jobs available to an individual who only speaks a foreign language - it is very limiting.

You have been a successful businessman but you have never donated any significant amount to the Republican Party…

My wife Ramah and I have tried to make a difference in a different way. We've focused on contributions to non-profits, much of it anonymous, as a way to positively impact our community. As you know the United Way is an organization we have been very involved with and continue to support. I feel by trying to earn the seat representing the 10th congressional district, I can further make a contribution to our community.

Have you made other contributions to Democrats and if you have to whom?

I made a $500 contribution to Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton because I thought Tom McGroaritywasn’t doing a good job. Mayor McGroarity was anti-Chamber and was generally an obstructionist and I would have supported almost anyone to keep him from gaining an additional term. The City of Wilkes-Barre is still digging out from his mismanagement.

He was asked about the war and he said that he wanted to concentrate on winning the war instead of getting out.

Regardless of whether it was right to get into Iraq I think we have a moral obligation to stay until the country is secure. We don’t want to leave behind a haven for terrorists. Additionally, military doctrine states you must have security before you can have an orderly and safe withdraw - it would put our troops at significant risk if we simply attempted to cut and run.

Do you favor raising the CAFE standards?

No. Let the market determine that. I also favor drilling for oil in ANWAR as a way to enhance energy independence.

Please expand on the following.The Wilkes-Barre Chamber, the biggest culprit when it comes to keeping wages down in the area.

I can't understand how anyone can make this argument. If we look at it from a supply and demand perspective; the Chamber's strategic plan and core mission calls for the recruitment and retainment of businesses in NEPA. If the Chamber brings in new businesses, and they hire Associates, the supply of available workers decreases and there is upward pressure on wages. Therefore, the best way to depress wages - if you could actually believe that was the intent of the Chamber - the simplest way to do it would be to not attract new business to the area. Clearly, this flies in the face of the facts as evidenced by the number of industrial parks the Chambers in the region have developed to provide a fertile environment for new businesses to locate.

Ask him about his vision for the future, and how he will create something other than part time jobs.

I very much appreciate this question, as it will give me a chance to address a common misconception about what we do. Our business recruits and places individuals from CEO's of public companies to hourly Associates. We've had assignments where people earn $100,000 doing computer engineering and were on these assignments for 8 years. We currently have 200 software trainers making $14-$17 per hour and many of these assignments have been ongoing for two years. 95% of our work is FULLTIME and we are a bridge to our client's payroll for 100's of people per year. Additionally, the majority of our "part-time" work is medical staffing and these tend to be nurses working full time at other locations who are looking for some additional hours.Regarding my vision for job creation. I have worked with many companies who have considered making our region the home for a new location. I often meet with these companies via my involvement with Penn's Northeast or the various chamber organization. I review the labor market makeup and help them decide if our market has the right workforce given what they are willing to offer in terms of compensation, benefits, working conditions, hours and necessary skills. I feel the development of the new medical school in the Scranton area, the by-pass around Selinsgrove, and keeping interstate 80 from being tolled is critical to the future of our region.

So we have another republican who never served wanting to keep our troops out there as targets. If this Hackett guys supports the president so much why didn\'t he give up his business and join the arms services like Pat Tillman? I think you know the answer. It is okay to fight as long as he hides behind others.

This guy has no understanding of foreign policy matters if he thinks there is even the slightest comparison between post ww 2 and the mid east today. Iraqis do not identify themselves as Iraqis--they are either Kurds, Sunnis, or Shiites. It is a tribal society and no amount of American money or more tragically, blood, is ever going to bring them to a point where they can agree to disagree. We can stay forever and play band aid to their chaos but it will only serve to keep the natives restless.

Hey Dave, nice list. I quess that was just random that you put the Meusers up on top even though Hacket gave 5 times the amount. Hey, I have an idea, how about a list of times you've dropped your moral priciples to go and work for someone. Someone who only has you there to bring in the few people who supported you in the last election. Ever think about that? You're quite the role model there Dave.

Dave- great try on a redirect- your Boy Hackett got a big contract from Dem Skrepnak and had to pay the $5,000. The point is he got a contract and then made a contribution. he never made one before, now he gets a contract and then finally realizes he should start donating to DEMS. Give me a break. The funny thing the other guy doesn't get anything from the county. You are trying to sanitize your boy and it will not work. He gave $5,000 to Dems and nothing to Republicans and only to DEMS who give him contracts. Please don't tell me he supports the Republican party. You dontated more to the party then he did. The only person I care about is Hackett's name because he brought it up and is an announced candidate.

Also- what type of health benefits do they offer? Is it full benefits, do they pay for some of them. There is a big difference in the type of health benefits. Also what is the average wage- Can they afford to pay for their health insurance?

The devil is in the details so don't gloss over them. We are going to be asking very tough quesitions of all the candidates. We need the best candidate to beat Carney but we expect them to come clean and stop the spin. We expect alot from our nominee and we will not stop asking the tough questions and we will not let you or anybody spin. This is a landmark election tht we must win- No room for any excuses. The bullseye is on Carney.

Great job with the Q/A. While it would be nice for every family to consists of father/mother, sometimes a single parent household is better than an abusive two parent household. Also a loving gay parent better than an abusive straight parent. I won't even get started on women's rights.

How come nobody who supports Dan Mueser is willing to use their real name. This is not really an attack on Mueser but the people who attack anyone who opposes him from Peters to Dave and HackettSome have even compared people who prefer candidates other than Mueser as Nazi's as anonymous or basically anonymous posters And I agrre it would nice to see G interview Meuser and I know the fomrer is game. His other one was ok, but he was not asked tough questions like this

Scott- My question is why did hackett finally decide to give to politicians? Do you think maybe he agreed to do it after he got the contract so it didn't look fishy? Hackett is a pretty smart guy and you can't say Skrepnak doesn't know how to navigate the donation circle. I am sure that they will be looking up all the donations and we will see if Hackett was telling the truth. Scott- also tell the truth- Meuser 90% of $140,000 went to Republicans like Santorum and the rest to Dems. Hackett- $5,000 to dems and $1,000 to Repubs. This issue is not settled. We need to get Gort to interview Meuser (has he announced). I want us to play fair. i don't want a spin job from Maderia. I want to find the best candidate. If hackett is the guy than great, if meuser is the guy than great.The key is to beat Carney- and I find it ironic that we are debating this on a blog of the guy that supports Carney.

Carney will not be easy to beat- we need to have the best guy. so let me get this scorecard right

Scott- Hackett supporterKAR- Meuser supporter

Gort- good job. Keep up the good work even though I don't like your candidate. Also tell me how to get a google blogger name so that I can put my name on this?

Sassy Fox- you are a very smart lady. Families are not cookie cutter anymore. I came from a single parent home. I think my dad did a good job. Mom passed away while we were young. You can't legislate families and you are right one good parent is much better than two bad ones. Sounds like Hackett cares about families, but they don't always exist in the fashion that he is describing. Signed- Socks

Where in anything Meuser has said, or written,do you find him to be "left of center right",whatever the heck that means?

I read an interview, and he seemed to be very conservative, fiscally, and socially.

Now if all you want to do is to keep harping on is these contributions, which by the way, he has never denied, or tried to hide, and have been explained "ad naseum", so be it.

Now this has nothing to do with Meuser, this is me asking about Specter,and the apparent contempt you , and other "true" conservatives have for him.

As I mentioned to "Rino Watcher", Specter is probably more responsible than anyone currently in the Senate for the confirmations of Thomas,Roberts, & Alito, does that count for anything in your little club?

I don't expect you to remember the Thomas hearings, because you were probably still in diapers, but they were very contentious.

The only republican on the Judiciary Committee who could attack Anita Hill with any credibility was Specter, and attack her he did, accusing her of perjury. He saved the day for Thomas.

Rant over.

Back to this campaign, I assume you are backing someone, if you don't mind, who might that be?

And again, if it's not too much trouble, what about your candidate makes him a "true" conservative?

I can't answer your first question on why he gave, but I think Hackett did in several different answers in the interview above.

"...focused on contributions to non-profits..."

"...effort was to have better county government..."

"...representing the 10th congressional district, I can further make a contribution..."

I must say I like that answer, because it goes along with my philosophy. I RARELY give to politicians, but I give ALOT to private charities, because seem to do a lot better at meeting peoples immediate needs. I only get behind people when I think they will make a difference.

As much as KAR harps on pay to play, just saying it over and over again don't make it so (just ask the Clintons). From what I can see, the contract long precedes the donation, and according to Hacketts answer, they went through the county bid process, what more could you ask for.

As to Meusers donations, I do realize he has given more to Republicans than Democrats, that is not in dispute. But I have to tell you, I am really getting tired of Specter Republicans, who will bite the hand that feeds them when it is politically expedient. Did we learn nothing from Santorums support of Specter over conservative Pat Toomey? And these aren't just Rhino republicans, they are liberal, tax and spend, get the government in control of as much as possible, pro choice Dem's.

It is ironic that we are discussing this on Gort's site, but I am a long time Gort reader, and while I skip the Sat. pet blogging (sorry Gort), I like the rest (Go Penn State!). He is thorough, consistent and regular, and I haven't found anyone else who covers the area like him. I should start a conservative blog, but there's no money in it, and everyone knows we conservatives are all about the dollar!

On the scorecard, I'll agree with you on KAR, but I am a Madeira supporter, who is looking at the candidates to decide who to choose. I don't much care for KARS brand of ugly politics, name calling, etc. He tries to be funny, but just comes across to me as juvenile. Madeira did quite well in a clean, well fought State Senate race (2nd in a five way race on his first time out...that puts him several steps ahead of Lincoln who finished 8th in a field of 13 his first time out). His support of Hackett certainly has me headed in that direction. While I don't recall the Nazi reference, his supporters calling Madeira a whore and a prostitute certainly sours me on Meuser (that and his aforementioned donations, not to mention that he hasn't announced yet). I guess you don't have to be on the fringe to be a lunatic.

Thanks for the kudos everybody. But give Chris Hackett some credit for his willingness to sit down and answer some questions. I disagree with him on many things but I admire any candidate who takes a position and is not reluctant to talk with someone on the other side.

As far as interviews with the other candidates, I'm game if they are. I'll talk politics with anyone. KAR, toss me an email to set up a time with your guy if he's willing. Are any supporters of the other candidates out there?

I'm sure I'll be talking with Chris Carney before the election and he has some things to explain such as his vote for the FISA Law, Military Commisions Act and against the hate crimes law.

Not funny, but juvenile, ugly politics, liberal tax & spend dems...ouch! You really know how to treat a lady.

Meuser is a not a "Specter republican", there are many issues where he & Specter are not in agreement, that doesn't mean that they cannot respect each other, and work together.

Well, let me amend that, in most of the world, reasonable people, can put differences aside,work together, and still maintain their political integrity. Apparently not the case in "Fringeville".

Meuser worked for & with Santorum, Sherwood, Specter, and other republicans in the state & and on a national level, he has learned from them, and is ready to hit the ground running when he gets to Washington.

Keep circling the wagons,take no prisoners, keep making that private club of yours more & more exclusive. Don't expect to win any elections though.

Everybody in PA knows that the most corrupt politics is in the counties. no bid contracts, paying more for things than they should and paying for things they never should have bought. Pay to play is rampant in the counties and especially in Luzerne. More money wasted than anywhere else. This contract that Hackett got rehired the same people they had let go at 20-30% higher than before. Hackett stated that was for SS, and Medicare taxes. That means they were hired at higher wages than before? Is my math right. Example- They were paid $50,000 in compensation before that included the taxes. Now we hire them back for $50,000 and 20% more to cover the cost of taxes. That adds up to $60,000. Please help me out here because I smell a rat but I am not sure if my math is correct?

Scott- you have been just as bad as KAR. I don't recall KAR ever calling Dave a whore. He supports Mueser and you support Hackett. Please don't also tell me that Dave ran a clean campaign. Calling Lisa Baker a baby killer is not a clean campaign. I admire Dave for getting out there and running, it takes guts, but don't tell me that he ran a clean campaign. Dave would have done anything to beat Lisa. Yes I am a lisa fan and I also like Dave but I voted for Lisa because the last week of the campaign pushed me away from Dave. Socks

I don't think the Anon posting from above is how it works regarding the county costs - I understood the bill rate to be a mark-up on wages - not wages and taxes. Thus, since the county has to pay the same employment related taxes - it would seem to be reasonable. If in fact it was a mark-up on costs - I would agree, it is a problem - but that's not how I read the comment.

KAR your comments while making me think, also bring a smile to my face, thanks for bringing the comic relief when everyone around here starts taking themselves too seriously. quack : )And to Socks, thank you for your comments. Sometimes I wonder if I will meet a person running for any political office that actually knows what is really is like to be an American. I think I can count on one hand the people I knew who grew up in a functional two parent household. And Gort. I am thankful Hackett took a stand, sadly I disagree with his stance and it kept me tossing an turning last night to think some people who call themselves Pro-family only see family one way, I thought our society jumped these barriers and prejudices ages ago...but I guess unlike those still living The Leave It To Beaver life, I'm making do in the real world.

I have googled for chris hacketts web site i can\'t seem to find one. how does a declared candidate in this day and age not have a web site up?or am i just missing it. i googled chris hackett for congress.